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Board of Governors

The Board of Governors directs the Academy’s strategic vision, preserves the organization’s financial health and assures the fulfillment of its mission.

Governors attend 6-8 board meetings annually (in person or by video conference when out of town). Each Governor also serves on one board oversight committee and their branch’s executive committee, and they are expected to represent their branch at numerous Academy events through the year.

Governors have fiduciary responsibilities imposed by state law to serve the Academy’s best interests, by acting with responsibility and care when approving annual goals presented by management, as well as major policies concerning governance.

CEO Dawn Hudson oversees a staff of more than 300 who conduct the Academy's day-to-day business.

Officers 2019 - 2020

President - David Rubin

Mr. Rubin’s career as a casting director includes more than 80 motion pictures, including “The English Patient,” “Men in Black,” “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” and “Lars and the Real Girl.” In 2002, he received the Casting Society of America’s Hoyt Bowers Award for outstanding contribution to the casting profession. Mr. Rubin is a governor of the Casting Directors Branch.

First Vice President - Lois Burwell

Ms. Burwell won an Oscar for her makeup work on "Braveheart" and was nominated for "Saving Private Ryan." Her other feature credits include "The Princess Bride," "War Horse," "Lincoln," and "Ready Player One." Ms. Burwell is a governor of the Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Branch.

Vice President - Sid Ganis

Co-President (with wife and partner, Nancy Ganis) of Out of the Blue Entertainment, a film and television production company. Former key studio exec around the industry and past president of the Academy. Currently working in the Chinese film market and (with Nancy) developing projects to be shot in China, Europe, and the United States. Mr. Ganis is a governor of the Marketing and Public Relations Branch.

Vice President - Larry Karaszewski

Mr. Karaszewski is best known for unusual true stories written in tandem with Scott Alexander. Their feature film credits include the Oscar-winning “Ed Wood,” “The People vs. Larry Flynt,” “Man on the Moon,” and "Big Eyes.” Mr. Karaszewski is a governor of the Writers Branch.

Vice President - Nancy Utley

Ms. Utley is Chairman of Fox Searchlight Pictures, where she jointly manages all aspects of the company, including production, acquisitions, marketing, and distribution. Ms. Utley is a governor of the Marketing and Public Relations Branch.

Treasurer - Mark Johnson

Mr. Johnson received a Best Picture Oscar for "Rain Man" and a nomination for "Bugsy.” He has also produced such films as "Donnie Brasco," "The Notebook," "Galaxy Quest," Steven Soderbergh's "Logan Lucky," and Alexander Payne's "Downsizing. Mr. Johnson is a governor of the Producers Branch.

Secretary - Bonnie Arnold

Animation veteran Bonnie Arnold produced the Academy Award-nominated films “How to Train Your Dragon” and “How to Train Your Dragon 2.” Additional producing credits include “Toy Story,” “Tarzan,” as well as the live-action films, “Dances with Wolves” and “The Last Station.” She served as Co-President/President of Feature Animation at DreamWorks Animation (2015-17). Ms. Arnold is a governor of the Short Films and Feature Animation Branch.

CEO - Dawn Hudson

Prior to becoming the Academy's CEO in 2011, Ms. Hudson was the Executive Director of Film Independent, which grew from a small non-profit into a nationally recognized arts institution under her leadership. She has worked in the arts for more than 25 years.

Governors 2019 - 2020

Actors Branch

Laura Dern

Ms. Dern earned Oscar nominations for her leading role in “Rambling Rose” and for her supporting role in “Wild.” Her other credits include “Mask,” “Blue Velvet,” “Wild At Heart,” ”Jurassic Park,” “Citizen Ruth,” “99 Homes,” and “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.”

Whoopi Goldberg

Oscar winner for "Ghost" and nominated for "The Color Purple," Ms. Goldberg hosted the Academy Awards four times. Feature credits include "Soapdish," "Corrina, Corrina," two "Sister Act" films, and "The Lion King." A Grammy, Emmy, and Tony winner, as well as Ambassador for the U.N., she is a recipient of the Mark Twain prize.

Alfred Molina

Mr. Molina is a SAG, EMMY, and BAFTA nominee, and his credits include “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “The Da Vinci Code,” “Spider-Man 2,” “Enchanted April,” “Frida,” “Love is Strange,” “Boogie Nights,” “Prick Up Your Ears,” and “Chocolat.”

Casting Directors Branch

Lora Kennedy

Ms. Kennedy has worked as a casting director for more than 25 years, on such features as “Soapdish,” “Tombstone,” “Argo,” “The Town,” “Wonder Woman,” and “Justice League.” She is the 2012 recipient of the Casting Society of America’s Hoyt Bowers Award for outstanding contribution to the casting profession.

David Rubin

Mr. Rubin’s career as a casting director includes more than 80 motion pictures, including “The English Patient,” “Men in Black,” “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” and “Lars and the Real Girl.” In 2002, he received the Casting Society of America’s Hoyt Bowers Award for outstanding contribution to the casting profession.

Bernard Telsey

Mr. Telsey has been a casting director for film, stage, and television for over 25 years. His feature credits include “Mary Poppins Returns,” “Miss Sloane,” “The Intern,” "Into the Woods," "Rachel Getting Married,” "Margin Call,” “Across the Universe," and "Pieces of April.” He serves as the New York vice president of the Casting Society of America.

Cinematographers Branch

Ellen Kuras

Oscar nominated for her film "The Betrayal/Nerakhoon," Ms. Kuras is a two-time Primetime Emmy winner. Her credits include "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," "Blow," "Summer of Sam," "Wormwood," "Rolling Thunder Revue," and, as a director, "Ozark" and "Catch 22."

Ms. Walker's credits include “Hidden Figures,” “The Mountain Between Us,”, “Australia,” “Shattered Glass,” and “Lantana.” She was inducted into the Hall of Fame for The Australian Cinematographers Society in 2017, and was an artist in residence at UCLA in 2015.

Costume Designers Branch

Ruth E. Carter

Ms. Carter won an Oscar for Costume Design for “Black Panther,” making history as the first African-American. Also Academy Award-nominated for “Malcom X” and “Amistad,” she has 50 feature film credits including “Do the Right Thing,” “The Butler,” “Selma,” and “Marshall” and received the 2019 Costume Designers Guild Career Achievement Award.

Jeffrey Kurland

Mr. Kurland’s credits include “Mission: Impossible-Fallout,” “Dunkirk,” “Bullets over Broadway,” for which he received an Oscar nomination, and “Inception.” In 2017, he received the Career Achievement Award from the Costume Designers Guild.

Isis Mussenden

Ms. Mussenden’s credits include “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe” (and two additional sequels), “American Psycho,” and “The Wolverine.” In addition, she was the first costume designer to receive costume-design credit for animation: “Shrek,” “Shrek 2,” and “Puss in Boots.”

Directors Branch

Susanne Bier

Ms. Bier is the director of the Oscar-winning film, “In a Better World,” and the Emmy-winning director for the series, “The Night Manager.” Her film “After the Wedding” received an Oscar nomination in the Foreign Language Film category. Additional credits include “Things We Lost in the Fire,” the original “Brothers,” “Open Hearts,” and “Bird Box.”

Kimberly Peirce

Ms. Peirce is the director of the Oscar-winning film, “Boys Don’t Cry.” Her other feature credits include “Stop-Loss” and the 2013 film adaptation of “Carrie.”

Steven Spielberg

Mr. Spielberg is a 17-time Oscar nominee and has won Academy Awards for directing and producing “Schindler’s List” and for directing “Saving Private Ryan.” Additional credits include “Bridge of Spies," “The Post,” and “Ready Player One.”

Documentary Branch

Kate Amend

Ms. Amend is the editor of the Oscar-winning documentaries “Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport” and “The Long Way Home.” Other credits include "Serena," “The Case Against 8,” “First Position,” and “Beah: A Black Woman Speaks.”

RORY KENNEDY

Ms. Kennedy received an Oscar nomination for the documentary feature, “Last Days in Vietnam.” Her other credits include “Take Every Wave: The Life of Laird Hamilton,” “Ethel,” “Killing in the Name,” and “Ghosts of Abu Ghraib.”

Roger Ross Williams

Mr. Williams won an Oscar for his short documentary, “Music by Prudence,” and a second nomination for his feature documentary, “Life, Animated.” His other credits include “God Loves Uganda” and “Blackface.”

Executives Branch

JIM GIANOPULOS

Mr. Gianopulos is the Chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures where he oversees the studio’s film and television operations worldwide, including production, marketing, and distribution.

Donna Gigliotti

Ms. Gigliotti is one of only nine women to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. She received the 1998 Oscar for producing “Shakespeare In Love.” She received three additional Academy Award nominations for Best Picture: “Hidden Figures” (2016), “Silver Linings Playbook” (2013), and “The Reader”(2008). She is President of Tempesta Films, a film production company based in New York.

David Linde

Mr. Linde is Chief Executive Officer at Participant Media. He has held executive, founder, and producer roles at Lava Bear Films, Universal Pictures, Focus Features, and Good Machine.

Film Editors Branch

Dody J. Dorn

Ms. Dorn earned an Oscar nomination for her work on “Memento.” She has also edited such features as “Kingdom of Heaven,” “Australia,” “End of Watch,” and “Fury.”

CAROL LITTLETON

Ms. Littleton earned an Oscar nomination for her work on “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial.” She also has edited such features as “A Walk in the Woods,” “Margot at the Wedding,” “Beloved,” and “The Big Chill.”

Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Branch

Howard Berger

Mr. Berger won an Oscar for his makeup work on "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" and was nominated for "Hitchcock.” His other feature credits include “Dances With Wolves,” “Lone Survivor,” “Kill Bill 1 & 2,” “The Green Mile,” and “Oz the Great and Powerful.”

Kathryn L. Blondell

Ms. Blondell has served as hairstylist on such films as “The Revenant,” “Django Unchained,” “J. Edgar,” “Revolutionary Road,” “Blood Diamond,” “Shampoo,” and “Harold and Maude.”

LOIS BURWELL

Ms. Burwell won an Oscar for her makeup work on "Braveheart" and was nominated for "Saving Private Ryan." Her other feature credits include "The Princess Bride," "War Horse," "Lincoln," and "Ready Player One."

Marketing and Public Relations Branch

Sid Ganis

Mr. Ganis is co-President (with wife and partner, Nancy Ganis) of Out of the Blue Entertainment, a film and television production company, a former key studio exec around the industry, and past president of the Academy. He is currently working in the Chinese film market and (with Nancy) developing projects to be shot in China, Europe, and the United States.

Christina Kounelias

Ms. Kounelias is the President, Worldwide Marketing, at Participant Media, where she oversees global strategy for all marketing, branding, and communications initiatives. Prior to Participant, she served as Chief Marketing Officer at the Academy and previously held senior marketing posts at New Line Cinema, Fox, and Miramax Films.

Nancy Utley

Ms. Utley is Chairman of Fox Searchlight Pictures, where she jointly manages all aspects of the company, including production, acquisitions, marketing, and distribution.

Music Branch

Charles Bernstein

Mr. Bernstein is best known for scoring genre classics, “A Nightmare on Elm Street” (the original), Stephen King’s “Cujo,” and “The Entity,” among over 130 feature films and TV movies. His credits also include “Inglorious Basterds” and Oscar-winning documentaries, “Czechoslovakia 1968” and “Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision.”

MICHAEL GIACCHINO

Mr. Giacchino won an Oscar for his original score for “Up.” His other credits include “Star Trek,” “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” “The Incredibles,” “War for the Planet of the Apes,” and “Ratatouille,” for which he received an Oscar nomination.

Laura Karpman

Laura Karpman is an award-winning composer and a tireless champion for women in music. With a doctorate from Julliard, her work spans film, television, concert halls, theater, and video games. She is a four-time Emmy winner whose feature credits include “Paris Can Wait,” “The Beguiled,” and “Step.”

Producers Branch

Albert Berger

Mr. Berger received an Oscar nomination for “Nebraska.” His other credits include “Little Children,” “Little Miss Sunshine,” and “Election.”

Mark Johnson

Mr. Johnson received a Best Picture Oscar for "Rain Man" and a nomination for "Bugsy.” He has also produced such films as "Donnie Brasco," "The Notebook," "Galaxy Quest," Steven Soderbergh's "Logan Lucky," and Alexander Payne's "Downsizing."

Jennifer Todd

Ms. Todd produced the double Oscar-winning film “Alice in Wonderland” and the Oscar-nominated films “Memento” and “Across the Universe.” She recently produced the Emmy-nominated 89th and 90th Annual Academy Awards.

Production Design Branch

Ms. Pascale was nominated for an Academy Award for her work as set decorator on “Good Night, and Good Luck.” Her other credits include “Argo,” “The Spiderwick Chronicles,” “Syriana,” and “Training Day.”

Short Films and Feature Animation Branch

Bonnie Arnold

Animation veteran Bonnie Arnold produced the Academy Award-nominated films “How to Train Your Dragon” and “How to Train Your Dragon 2.” Additional producing credits include “Toy Story,” “Tarzan,” as well as the live-action films, “Dances with Wolves” and “The Last Station.” She served as Co-President/President of Feature Animation at DreamWorks Animation (2015-17). Ms. Arnold is a governor of the Short Films and Feature Animation Branch.

Mr. Sito is a professor in the Animation and Digital Arts Division of the USC School of Cinematic Arts. His 31 film credits include “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” “The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Aladdin,” “The Lion King,” “Shrek,” “Osmosis Jones,” and “Garfield.”

Sound Branch

Kevin Collier

Mr. Collier currently serves as the VP of Engineering and Technology, Warner Bros. Studio Facilities, a position he’s held for more than twenty years. Prior to Warner Bros., Mr. Collier worked at NBC Universal and Quad Eight Electronics.

Mr. Millan has won four Academy Awards as a re-recording mixer, for “Apollo 13,” “Gladiator,” “Ray,” and “The Bourne Ultimatum.” He received additional nominations for his work on “Schindler’s List,” “Braveheart,” “Road to Perdition,” “Salt,” and “Skyfall.”

Visual Effects Branch

Craig Barron

Mr. Barron has contributed visual effects to more than a hundred motion pictures. He received an Oscar nomination for his work on “Batman Returns” and was awarded Best Visual Effects on “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” He is co-chair of the Academy’s Science and Technology Council.

Richard Edlund

Mr. Edlund has won four Oscars, for “Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope,” “Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back,” “Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi,” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” He has earned an additional six nominations. He is also the recipient of three Scientific and Technical Achievement Awards and the John A. Bonner Medal of Commendation.

John Knoll

Mr. Knoll has earned six Oscar nominations for Visual Effects, for “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” “Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace,” “Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones,” and three films in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise. He won an Oscar for his work on “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.”

Writers Branch

Larry Karaszewski

Mr. Karaszewski is best known for unusual true stories written in tandem with Scott Alexander. Their feature film credits include the Oscar-winning “Ed Wood,” “The People vs. Larry Flynt,” “Man on the Moon,” and "Big Eyes.”

Billy Ray

Mr. Ray received an Oscar nomination for his Adapted Screenplay for “Captain Phillips.” His other credits include “The Hunger Games,” “Breach,” “Shattered Glass,” and Secret in Their Eyes.”

Eric Roth

Mr. Roth won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for "Forrest Gump" and has been nominated for his screenplays of "The Insider," "Munich," "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," and "A Star is Born." He wrote Mr. Kurosawa's "Rhapsody in August," "The Horse Whisperer," "Ali," and Best Picture Nominee, "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close." He received the WGA Laurel Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Governors-at-Large

(Nominated by the President and elected by the board)

DeVon Franklin

Mr. Franklin, a member of the Executives Branch, is the former SVP of Production for Columbia Pictures Entertainment and now runs his own production company, Franklin Entertainment. He has produced the hit films “Breakthrough,” “The Star,” and “Miracles from Heaven.” He is also a New York Times bestselling author and minister.

Rodrigo García

Mr. García is a former cinematographer, a writer/director, and a member of the Directors Branch. Among his movies are "Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her," "Nine Lives," "Mother and Child," and "Albert Nobbs." His pilot directing credits include "Carnivale," "Big Love," and "In Treatment."

Janet Yang

Ms. Yang, a member of the Producers Branch, began her career in China in distribution. Her extensive film and TV producting credits include “The Joy Luck Club,” “The People vs. Larry Flynt,” “Shanghai Calling,” “High Crimes,” “Dark Matter,” and “Zero Effect.” She won an Emmy for the HBO film, “Indictment: The McMartin Trial.” Her upcoming films include the animated feature, “Over the Moon.”